Michelle Teheux: You say you want a revolution?

Wednesday

Oct 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMOct 27, 2010 at 4:07 PM

I recently talked to someone who has a solution to all the negative campaigning (worse this year than ever, in the eyes of fellow journalists and everybody else) and broken campaign promises. “Shoot them," he said, referring to politicians caught lying or otherwise misbehaving. “Once you’ve killed a few of them, they’ll start to catch on.” The problem with that idea (aside from killing people, which I tend to be against) is that we already fought a revolution. From that revolution came our form of government, one that already gives us all the tools we need to keep our politicians honest.

Michelle Teheux

I recently talked to someone who has a solution to all the negative campaigning (worse this year than ever, in the eyes of fellow journalists and everybody else) and broken campaign promises.

“You’re not talking about reform, you’re talking about revolution,” I said.

The problem with that idea (aside from killing people, which I tend to be against) is that we already fought a revolution. From that revolution came our form of government, one that already gives us all the tools we need to keep our politicians honest.

Unfortunately, few folks are willing to put forth the effort involved in being an informed citizen and voter. Why do so many politicians resort to negative campaigning? Because it works. That’s the best way to get the couch potato vote. People who are more interested in watching reality TV shows than reading up about the candidates are easily swayed.

It isn’t enough to decide a week before your vote to start paying attention and reading a few election-related stories. This is a year-long gig, folks. When I watch certain negative campaign ads, I know the background behind the claims, because I’ve been paying attention, and sometimes I’m horrified at the distortions.

I’m also not happy about candidates who refuse to give any meaningful details about what they would do if elected, because they know that citizens quickly grow bored hearing about the complicated fixes that are sometimes necessary.

That’s how we get candidates claiming they are going to “cut the fat” instead of saying “we’re going to make some very painful and unpopular cuts” or “we just might have to raise taxes.”

Of course, it’s hard to blame candidates for refusing to say anything of substance when they know their opponents will pounce on anything they say and interpret it the worst possible way, and that all too many voters will be completely taken in by the tactic.

I don’t know how we fix this. If even a solid minority of citizens would actually pay attention to politics all year long it would be enough. But by “pay attention” I don’t mean steep themselves in one particular biased media stew all the time.

Here’s a hint: If you find yourself saying, “Oh, heck yeah!” after each news story, you’re watching/reading a biased source. If you’re moved to think a bit or to feel outside your comfort zone after watching/reading, you probably are OK.

I’m biased in favor of your local newspaper as the best source for your local news, of course. But the Internet allows any of us to skip around and get all sorts of views.

What do the conservatives say? What do the liberals say? What do the independents say? Is there anything worthwhile being brought up by any third-party candidates? And how do they respond to criticism from each other?

Voting is the very least one should do. Paying attention to campaigns and to what is happening in government — and holding elected officials accountable — is even more important. If you’re not willing to do the latter, don’t bother to do the former.

An uninformed voter responding mostly to negative campaign advertising is part of the problem.

A voter who thinks he or she is informed because he or she absorbs every word some far-left or far-right media outlet spews out (but little else) is part of the problem.

Ever since 9/11 we’ve had a surge of patriotism. But what good is patriotism without good citizenship? It’s easy to stick a patriotic decal on your bumper or wave a flag at a parade, and those are nice things to do.

Engaging in our democracy as an informed participant will get you (and our country) a lot further.